The Voltaic pile was the first battery, which was invented by Count Alessandro Volta in 1800. When we say the first battery, we mean the first generator of direct current (DC). This Italian scientist discovered that electricity could be generated by putting paper or cloth moistened with sulphuric acid between sheets of zinc and copper. Thus, this first electric cell was composed of a stack of copper and zinc discs arranged alternately; between them, he placed a sheet of blotting paper which had been soaked in sulphuric acid. Then electric current began to flow in a circuit when the two ends of a conducting wire were connected to two cell plates.
The pile of metal plates he devised would be called the ‘Voltaic pile’. He would then improve his battery by dipping a zinc rod and a copper rod into a vessel that contained dilute sulphuric acid. In this new arrangement, he noticed that the flow of direct current was stronger. Therefore, Volta’s invention ushered in a new era in the history of the science of electricity as they witnessed this new and strange natural phenomena, which had not been seen until then. Today, portable batteries are used for different purposes as they are employed in flashlights, portable radio sets as well as in cars. It would soon be found out that, with a combination of many cells, very powerful batteries could be made.
Finally, to add something extra to this information, the unit of electrical potential difference was called ‘volt’ after Alessandro Volta.
Below, original drawings of the Voltaic Pile drawn by Volta. Notice the copper and zinc disks with the electrolytes in between them.
